How to Get Started as an Education Writer

If you want a chance to reflect on and share what you’ve learned about teaching, education writing might be for you. By “education writing,” I mean writing blogs or articles about education-related topics. I got my start writing blogs for Teaching Channel about new teachers and coaching, which turned into two long-standing columns. Through this experience, I was able to find a much-needed opportunity to reflect on what I had learned as a coach working with new teachers (and who ever has time for reflection when teaching or coaching?!) I also found that by writing blogs, I was able to build my online presence and connect with teachers around the world. It was truly a win-win.

If you want to get started as an education writer, follow these three steps: 

1) Narrow in on a Topic 

What do you feel most confident writing about? What do people come to you for professional advice with? Try to narrow down on some topics that you might write about. Instead of writing about everything related to elementary education, you might write about makers education, social and emotional learning, teaching math, etc. Start by coming up with a list of topics that you feel passionately about and feel like you have a unique perspective on. After you have your list, prioritize! Which topic will you start with? You can get to everything eventually, but you need to start with a single topic. 

2) Consider Publications 

Now that you have ideas, it’s time to consider where you might get published. Before drafting, it can be helpful to do a deep dive into the tone of the publication you’ll be pitching your piece to. When thinking about where to get published, consider where you go for blogs and articles about teaching. Consider looking at Edutopia, WeAreTeachers, Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance), and other sites for educators. Read through the writing on the site, paying attention to the topics that they have covered and the general tone/voice their writers use. Find the part of the site that says “Write for Us” (often in the “Contact Us” section) to find out details about how to pitch your idea. 

3) Draft & Pitch! 

I put the drafting and pitching steps together because some sites ask that you pitch your idea before drafting, while other sites are looking for completed articles before they make their decision. Once you have your idea and a sense of where you might pitch your piece, get ready to write! Create as many drafts as you need to before you feel satisfied. I often write a real messy first draft where I let myself get all my ideas out without any judgment, knowing that I likely will be the only person to ever see this draft. Then I go back through to revise, edit, and polish before submitting my piece. When you are ready to pitch your writing, follow the instructions on the sites you have identified. If one site doesn’t take your piece, try again! You can revise your piece and/or try another publication. You can also consider publishing on Medium or creating your own blog. 

If you want more support to get started as an education writer (along with many other career pathways), we’d love to have you join us in the Beyond the Classroom course. 

I can’t wait to see what you write!